Best Kenya & Tanzania Day 9
Best Kenya & Tanzania
Day 09 - Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - Tarangire National Park/Game Drives
With all of our tent flaps open we had a nice breeze off of the lake and we both slept well last night. I was out on the veranda talking photos of the sunrise when Gennie woke up at 6:00.
We showered, checked the weather stats (68º/74%), and had our breakfast on the porch of the main lodge overlooking the lake and the park.
The staff had prepared a collage of foods and sandwich materials so we could all pack our own box lunch for our noon meal. By 8:00 everyone was ready and loaded into the trucks for our first day’s adventure in Tanzania.
As we left the camp, Leonard stopped several times to tell us about poisonous plants in the bush; the candelabra cactus and the Sodom apple. We watched a march eagle that had just caught breakfast.
This part of Tanzania has massive trees called baobab which must be 20 to 30 feet in diameter and live to be 3000+ years old. Leonard explained that many Maasai believed that a tree that big had to be God’s house and they made offerings and prayed at the foot of the huge trees.
The land around the camp is cultivated but because it is just the first few days of spring, nothing new has been planted yet. Sunflowers and corn are the main crops waiting to be planted closer to the rainy season.
We reached Tarangire National Park for a full day’s game drive. Our first spotting was a male dik-dik.
He is in the smallest of the antelope family and extremely difficult to photograph because they are so skitterish. Leonard told us the have “Christian Marriages”; they mate for life.
The photo stops this morning were plentiful and frequent. Every time we stopped Leonard gave us more information about the specific animals, their predators, the habitats, and migration habits.
Tarangire National Park is still very arid now in the dry season, but the animals look very well-fed. We saw a troop of yellow baboons with many with babies; an indication of a healthy environment.
Our first unique sighting of the day was a single eland, a huge member of the antelope family. The park is alive with elephants, giraffes, wildebeest and zebra.
We stopped briefly at 11:15 at an overlook and picnic area where we could see the valley of the Tarangire River and all of the animals that depend on it for life.
The highlight of the morning was to see a small pride of four lions working at a watering hole. They had just brought down a zebra and were having a difficult time getting it out of the water so they could feed.
The two playful cubs were having fun running and jumping on each other and their mother. She was annoyed because she was trying so hard to get dinner ready and they were playing!
Our lunch was back at the overlook at 12:35. Many other groups had chosen the same spot. Our hour break from the truck was refreshing even though it was 93ºand 44% humidity.
The baboons were begging for food, even though it is strictly forbidden to feed the animals. One large male jumped on the table and tried to steal part of Scott’s lunch.
The guides scared him away but the baboons are persistent and also took a sandwich from the German tourists who were a short distance away.
On our way out of the park, we went back to check on our lioness who had the zebra out of the water. She and her pride were eating their fill and will not have to hunt again for two or three more days.
At 2:45 we started home and arrived back at the camp a little before 4:00 hot, dusty, and tired. We showered, Gennie did a little laundry, and we started to write the journal and view pictures.
The light is not good after dark and I have found that my Vodafone does not work this far out into the bush – no phone signal – no internet!
Dinner was at 7:30 in the main lodge. We had another generous buffet, but we are really trying to be sensible about eating too much in this very hot climate. Every few minutes we remind each other to drink water though!
Today was Beth’s birthday and her friend Ellen had bought her a card and t-shirt. Some of us pitched in to help defray the cost. Barikiel presented her with a birthday cake and we all celebrated her special day.
Our porter walked with us back to our tent after dinner. We packed our bags and set out our clothes for the early morning departure to the Ngorongoro Foothills.
Accommodations: Lake Burunge Tented Camp - - - Meal: B, L, D
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Two Elephants Drinking (0:32)
Lake Burunge Tented Camp Main Facilt...
Sabra Carrying Goods
Dik Dik
Yellow Baboons
Pride of Lions and Zebra
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